Page 12 of Wonderstruck

11104

United States

514 Cotton Drive

Honeywood

MT

59482

United States

My eyes skipped over the New York address. That was my home. Instead, I put all my attention on the Honeywood address.

Dad still owned that house? He told me he sold it to pay for the house in thecity. How was this possible?

I felt my breath grow heavy as I carried on reading.

With the property in Honeywood sitting with no remaining mortgage, that house is solely yours to do with what you please. However, the New York address would need to be sold in order to clear the mortgage. This would require clearing the house of all possessions you wish to keep and putting the house on the market as soon as possible.

We must reiterate that we understand the depth and emotion of the situation, and we understand if this takes time to process. But do keep in mind, Miss Greene, that the bank that is waiting for mortgage payments will notbe so lenient.

The dread I felt eat up my stomach when I woke up was returning, lulling meinto the dark.

Please do contact us when the house is clear and we can help with the sale in any way that the team at Hudson, Florian, and Swift.

I read the last sentence once, my heart sinking. Then, again, my pulsethrobbing louder with each pass, like some warning bell trying to shake me awake from this dream that was far too real. The paper felt heavy in my hand, almost like I was holding a piece of him. But he wasn’t there, and I couldn’t look away from the emptiness of it all—what the letter was asking me to do. I lifted my head, meeting the stares of all three of my best friends.

“What’s wrong?” Goldie asked immediately.

I set the paper down and swallowed, butit felt like my throat was closing, trapping everything I wanted to say. “I…” A humourless laugh fell from my lips. “Um… apparently I am now a homeowner, of two properties… and I’ve… I’ve got to clear out my home in New York to sell it.”

The silence that followed was almostunbearable, pressing down on me, fillingevery inch of the room that had lost all of its warmth. I glanced down at the letter, the black text blurring as my mind filled with images—fractured pieces of memories I hadn’t touched since the funeral.

The swell I’d expected before had madeits fashionably late appearance, and Isank my head, the weight of everything I’d just read crashing down on me like a tsunami wave.

“Oh, Rory,” Cora said into the crown of myhead, as all of their hands around me grew tight. Warm.

The letter crumbled as my body foldedforward, but it wasn't long before the girlsscooted over and held me up in every way they could.

Boy, this day was really testing me, wasn't it?

First, I got to class this morning andrealised that being here was the last place Iwanted to be. Then, I ran into Finn, and was reminded of the other reason I didn't want to come back this year. And now this? I had to sell a house? How do you sell a house? I’d planned afuneral, and now I had to do this?

No, I needed time. I needed a break. Ineeded help. I needed myparents.

“I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” Iwhispered, feeling the words drag out ofme, raw and jagged. They felt like an admission, some truth I hadn’t let myself face until now.

I looked up, and like I already knew it, all I saw from the girls was understanding. Genuine, steady, unwavering smiles that told me better than words that they knew sympathy and pity wasn't what I wanted.

Goldie squeezed my hand, her gaze steady, not a flicker of doubt. “Then we’lldo it together,” she said softly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Like, of course I didn’t have to do this alone. “I don't know why you always forget that you’re not alone inthis, Rory."

Daisy's voice broke in. "Whenever you’re ready… we’ll be there.”

Leaning forward, Cora's dark eyessoftened, a faint smile tugging at her lips.“She’s right. Never, ever think you have to get through this part of your life without help.” She squeezed my hand. “We’ll always be here for each other. That’s a promise.”

Her voice was quieter than usual, gentle,but there was a fierceness in her expression that almost surprised me. Meeting her at the end of high school, working with her at Flo’s and living with her all of last year, I’d seen her at her truest; bold and brazen and unafraid to speak her mind. But this was different. There was a protectiveness there, something that felt solid and real, like she would carry all of this weight if she could.

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